Dustin and Ashlynn met in the fall of 2017 at Panola College in the Theatre Arts program. They became friends when they auditioned for Panola's production of Flyer written by Kate Aspengren. Ashlynn was the "barefoot and pregnant" housewife named Dusty, and Dustin was the Sailor boy in the back (and also voiced John Glenn). Even after they both left the program, they remained in contact, growing closer over the years.

On February 14th, 2022, Valentine's Day, Dustin surprised Ashlynn with flowers being delivered to her at work. The card read, "You know who it is :) Love ya!" She, in fact, did not know who would have sent her flowers, so she called around only to find out Dustin, the cute Sailor boy in the back, had finally made his move 5 years later. They went on their first date to Chili's 2 days later in Nacogdoches, and they officially marked the beginning of their relationship on April 1st, 2022 with Dustin asking Ashlynn to be his girlfriend.

On July 23, 2023, Dustin and Ashlynn were on vacation with Ashlynn's family in Galveston. Dustin, Ashlynn, her mother, Brandy, and youngest brother Aiden, hit the beach that afternoon. Ashlynn handed her phone to her mother and asked her to take pictures of her and Dustin on the jetty to the left of Pleasure Pier. It was there that Dustin dropped to one knee, looked up at Ashlynn and said, "Baby, will you marry me?" She excitedly replied, "Of course I'll marry you," and sealed their fate with a kiss. Dustin now jokes about how she never actually said, "yes," but she's still planning this wedding regardless.

We are registered at: -White Cottage Mercantile, Center, TX -Payne & Payne, Center, TX -Hughes Florist, Center, TX -ACE Hardware, Center, TX -Amazon.com -Walmart.com -Anthropologie.com